


Strings of Fate

by zouge_tori



Series: Rewrite AU [1]
Category: Descendants (Disney Movies), The Isle of the Lost Series - Melissa de la Cruz
Genre: Abuse, Adoption, All of the VKs Won't Admit It But They Care About Each Other, Alternate Origin Story, Ben Isn't Oblivious (Disney: Descendants), Ben Knows More Than He Lets On (Disney: Descendants), Claudine Didn't Realize That She Was Already Dating Diego and the Others, Divorce, Dr. Facilier is a Hoe, Eating Disorders, Emotions Aren't Weak, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Everyone Has Issues, Everyone Is Alive, Everyone Is Gay, Everyone Needs A Hug, Freddie and Carlos are half-siblings, Freddie and Ginny are half-siblings, Ginny Gothel is Adorable, I Love All of These Children, I'm Bad At Tagging, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Insecurity, Isle of the Lost (Disney), Isle of the Lost (Disney) is a Terrible Place, Just In An Emotional Way, King of Hearts Just Wants the Best for the Kids, King of Hearts is Everyone's Dad, King of Hearts is a Good Boy, Magic Connected to Music, Mal Just Wants to Be Recognized for Who She Is, Manipulation, Mental Health Issues, Multi, Music Connected to Magic, Musical References, Mutual Pining, None of the Isle Kids are Sane, Not literally, Oblivious Claudine, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Parties, Polyamory, Polyamory Negotiations, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Prophetic Dreams, Queen of Hearts is Abusive, Queen of Hearts is a Bitch, Schizophrenia, Solidarity, Somewhat Innocent Claudine, Soulmates, Starvation, Stealing, Step-siblings, Suggestive Themes, Swearing, Symbolism, Theft, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things, Trans Mal (Disney), United States of Auradon (Disney), United States of Auradon (Disney) Is Not Perfect, Useless Lesbians, VKs Don't All Like Their Parents, Warnings May Change, Why Did I Write This?, body image issues, clubs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-02
Updated: 2019-01-25
Packaged: 2019-06-01 04:45:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 16,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15135395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zouge_tori/pseuds/zouge_tori
Summary: Fate is a funny thing.You never know what it will do.And no one knows this better than four kids in particular:Mal, daughter of MaleficentJay, son of JafarEvie, daughter of the Evil Queenand Carlos, son of Cruella de VIl.Follow these four unlikely friends as they find out more about themselves, the world around them, and each other.-----AKA the author has a problem with stopping themself from rewriting everything related to Descendants and they decided to take a crack at the Isle of the Lost series.[CURRENTLY BEING REWRITTEN]SEE CHAPTER 11 FOR MORE DETAILS





	1. Prologue

It was a nice winter day on the Isle of the Lost.

The sun was peeking through the clouds, the wind was gently ruffling anything that it could, the waves were peacefully crashing against the shore, it was chilly but not too cold, there were barely any squabbles happening, and there wasn’t any signs of it blizzarding.

However, this wasn’t any ordinary day. 

Today was Evelyn Adelina Regine, only daughter of the Evil Queen,’s sixth-birthday, and the Isle was buzzing as it prepared for the exciting event that only happened once every year.

But, one five-year-old boy in particular was the most excited about this day: Phobos Berthold Dragmire, only son of Maleficent the Evil Fairy.

Phobos was average height for his age at 3½ feet tall with pale skin, hazel eyes that glowed green when he got upset, and purple hair that was down to his chin and usually pulled into a small ponytail. That day, he was wearing his best dark green t-shirt with the least amount of holes in it, his purple leather jacket that had been a present from Evie last year, his thickest black jeans, and his combat boots that his mom had gotten him as an early birthday present.

The five-year-old had been planning to present his friend with the best birthday gift since last year and it had taken him months for him to put it together. However, he was still missing one vital piece of his project and he needed to hurry, as the party was only in a few more hours.

Finally, the five-year-old pushed his bangs out of his face as he looked up at the bright red sign over a large shop that read “Queen of Heart’s Salon”. Giggling to himself, Phobos pushed open the heavy door and went inside. Immediately, he spotted the man that he was looking for: Cardinal Hartz, husband to Ebony Hartz, though everyone just called him Mr. Hartz.

Mr. Hartz was a short, stout man at only 4’9’’, with reddish skin, ginger hair that curled without him even trying, and kind brown eyes. He was wearing his normal red turtleneck that looked like it was several sizes too big for him, bagging red pants that also looked too big, black shoes, and a gold ring that only appeared when he waved or pushed up his sleeves.

“Hello, Phobos. How are you doing?” Mr. Hartz asked with a kindly smile, ruffling his hair affectionately.

“Awfully!” However, when he said this, his tone was happy, showing how he truly felt, “By any chance, do you have a golden necklace clasp?” Phobos asked with a giant grin and puppy-dog eyes.

Mr. Hartz let out a thoughtful hum as he tapped his bottom lip with his finger. He turned in his swivel chair and started shuffling things around on his desk. However, he soon made a noise of triumph as he held up a hook and eye clasp. Phobos happily giggled as he clapped and jumped up and down. He then reached into his pocket and held out his allowance out to Mr.Hartz. However, much to his surprise, the adult pushed it back with a chuckle as he placed the two parts of the clasp in a box and handed the box to Phobos.

“Take it. I know that it’s for your birthday present to Evie. You don’t have to pay for it.” Mr. Hartz said with a twinkle in his eyes.

“Thanks so much, Mr. Hartz! Have a rotten day!” Phobos said happily as he ran out of the shop, waving as he quickly home.

As soon as he made it to the large oak doors of Bargain Castle, he pushed them open and ran up to his room. Quickly taking out the shoebox that held the incomplete necklace as well as the materials he had used to make it, Phobos quickly but carefully attached the clasp to either side of the necklace and held it up proudly.

It was a rather simple wire necklace that had various shells, stones, and other trinkets laced onto the main wire and then was fastened together with the clasp that he had just gotten. While it was simple, he had laced it with everything that he knew that Evie liked: apples, crowns, and red and blue stones.

Evie was going to love it.

Giggling giddily, he put the special necklace in a special box that he had bought specifically for this day and then put that in a blue bag with a golden crown on the front as well as “For: Evie” in bold red letters.

Phobos then rushed to go give his gift to Evie…

...Only to run right into his mother.

Paling, the five-year-old held the present close to his chest, not wanting his mom to take it from him. Maleficent looked down at him from her intimidating (or well, at least to little Phobos) height of 5’2’’, which was only made worse by her horns that twisted even higher into the air.

“And where are you off to, Phobos?” Maleficent asked coldly, her free hand caressing her staff.

“T-to go ruin Evie’s birthday party by giving her the worst present ever?” he replied shakily, knowing that he couldn’t lie that easily to his mom.

“Phobos, honey, I have repeatedly told you that friendships are weaknesses.” Maleficent said as her hand started to caress his hair, making him flinch away.

“But it’s not a friendship! It’s an alliance against Uma and her gang!” Phobos protested, holding the bag closer as he started to edge his way to the door.

The two stared at each other, eyes glowing acidic green. However, while Phobos felt his eyes watering, he moved stealthily toward the door before flinging it open and running, breaking eye contact with his mother as he ran toward Evie’s house.

He knew that he would be in deep trouble for disobeying her later but Evie was so worth getting punished for.

Soon, however, he heard cheering and shouting as the town celebrated Evie’s birthday. With awe, Phobos clambered on top of one of the stalls and sat down, watching all of the villains and sidekicks as they celebrated his friend’s birthday:

Lady Tremaine smiled a rare smile that was only brought about by Evie’s adorable giggles.

Shere Khan was cuddled up to Evie and Phobos could practically hear him purr like Lucifer, which is to say, like a housecat.

Captain Hook was bravely sticking his head between Tik Tok the Croc’s jaw in order to get a laugh out of her, which it did.

However, what made his heart flutter in his chest like a trapped bird was when Evie looked over at him and widely grinned, gesturing for him to come close

Fighting down the feeling in his gut, Phobos hopped down from his perch and made his way through the crowd, gift tightly held in his arms. He soon got to the front of it, where Evie was on a makeshift throne in front of a giant cake. She gestured for him to climb up, which he did, being careful not to step on Shere Khan’s tail.

“Is that for me?” she asked, her head tilting curiously and cutely.

Blushing, Phobos shoved the gift into his arms and crossed his arms with a huff. Evie giggled at that and then dug into the bag and pulled out the blue box out of it. He watched as her face lit up with excitement as she opened the box and revealed the shiny necklace that he had made for her.

“Oh, Phobos! I love it!” she said happily, hugging him tightly.

“Of course you do! I made it myself!” Phobos bragged with a grin, trying to hide his embarrassment.

“Could you help me put it on?” Evie asked, turning and pulling her hair so that her neck was exposed.

“S-sure!” he stuttered as he took the necklace from her carefully.

Phobos then carefully put it around her neck and fastened the clasp. Evie swept her hair back over her shoulders and admired the necklace as it contrasted her outfit in the best way. Once more, she giggled and hugged Phobos.

“This is the best birthday ever!” She loudly proclaimed, causing the whole crowd to cheer.

Phobos soon got swept up into the celebration:

He got to choose one of Lucifer's kittens, who he named Alastor for the star shape on the middle of his forehead.

He got to partake of the cake, which tasted just as great as he expected it to be.

He got to talk to Evie extensively and hang out with all of the other urchins of the Isle.

But, soon, the festivities wound down and dread filled his full stomach as he realized he had to face his mother. Steeling himself for a talking to, Phobos made his way home and opened the door, expecting to get yelled at.

However, much to his surprise, when he got home, his mother wasn’t mad at him at all.

Quite the opposite, actually.

Maleficent started talking about how proud she was for him to have the gaul to stand up to her and leave without her permission. She also said that she was glad that he was in alliance with Evie, as that meant that the Evil Queen had to force herself to cooperate with the faerie, as their kids were allianced.

And, for once, Phobos felt content with what he had done that day.


	2. Chapter 1 - The Faerie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introducing: Mallory "Mal" Bertha Dragmire  
> Where-in Mal has a strange dream that she can't decipher

_Mallory, or Mal, for short, was surprised when she found herself in a large concert hall that seemed to stretch in all directions endlessly, dressed in a fancy high-collar and low-neckline purple dress that trailed on the ground, swishing around her heels as she tried to make her way through the crowded hall._

_She suddenly spotted a tall young man with tousled honey-blonde hair and dressed in a blue suit with golden lining and wearing a beast mask that covered the upper-half of his face, though Mal could see that he had bright blue eyes, approaching her, one hand casually in his pocket and the other folded behind him. He then stopped in front of her and bowed deeply, his eyes twinkling mischievously._

_“May I have this dance, m’lady?” he asked, his voice making something inside of her tingle._

_However, before she could respond, a pale girl with a short black bob walked over, dressed in a simple baby blue ball gown with a pink bow on the front with white gloves and a blue fairy mask that covered the top of her face, though it showed off the girl’s icy blue eyes. One hand was planted on her hip while the other hung lazily at her side._

_“I think she wants to dance with me first,” Mal could have sworn that the girl said a name but all she heard was static._

_“Who are you two?” Mal asked, finally finding her voice._

_Both strangers looked over at her and both smiled, the boy’s being kind and heart-melting while the other was smug and mischievous._

_“You’ll know when you see us.” the girl teasingly said, moving so close that she could practically feel her touching her._

_Suddenly, a loud meowing sound filled the corridor and the two strangers waved before everything vanished as Mal woke up._

Mal sat up abruptly in her bed, one hand holding the fabric of her pajama shirt tightly, her chest heaving. Looking down at the foot of her bed, she saw Alastor looking at her with his lemon-shaped green and purple heterochromic eyes. Sighing, she ran her hand through her hair as she got out of bed, wondering what her dream was about.

The two seemed so familiar that she could practically say their names.

Except she couldn’t.

Groaning tiredly, Mal changed out of her pajamas and into her normal outfit of her signature purple leather biker jacket with spikes and splashes of pink and green on the sleeves, purple torn jeans in just the right places, black leather fingerless gloves, and battered combat boots.

Raking her fingers through her messy hair, she yawned as she packed away her sketchbook and spray cans, as her, Evie, and Jay were undoubtedly going to graffiti stuff after (or maybe even during) school, into her bag.

Alastor meowed and purred as he rubbed up against her leg. Smiling, she rubbed the top of his head, causing him to make small chirping sounds.

“Let’s get food now, shall we?” Mal murmured as she made her way past her mother’s room.

The runty cat nodded in agreement, moving down the stairs with graceful ease. Compared to all of his siblings, he was definitely the tiniest. However, that didn’t stop him from still being a rather large cat, only being slightly smaller than his father. And, much like Mal herself, he didn’t let his small size get the better of him and always used it to get his advantages.

Soon, the two arrived at the Slop Shop, which was the best (and only) coffee shop of the Isle. It was run by the goblins who used to be Maleficent’s minions but had stopped after they realized that she was the reason why all of them were on there.

Not that Mal blamed them.

Walking up, her nose scrunched at the pungent smell of the goblin who was currently running the shop.

“Whadda what?” the goblin snarled, sounding very irritated

“A black coffee.” Mal commented, her hand leaning against the counter.

As the goblin turned around to get coffee from the machine, Mal quickly snatched a few stale and only slightly moldy bagels (she could always tear off the moldy bits) and shoved them into the bag faster than someone could say, “Boo”. She then smirked as the goblin put the dark coffee on the counter, looking like he was about to say the price. However, the faerie just grabbed the coffee and ran, cackling as she heard the goblin yell after her. She then slowed down and stopped by one of the many posters put up by King Adam to encourage “good behaviour”.

Like that would do any good here.

Rolling her eyes at the poster, she got out her purple spray can and went over the poster with her symbol that adorned her sketchbook and was her own personal symbol that was heavily inspired by her mother. After she had finished her handiwork, she took a sip of the coffee and tore off some of the bagel to give to Alastor.

After the two had quickly eaten, they made their way to the normal meetup spot, which was close to Jay’s place. As they moved, Mal made sure to snag anything that caught her interest or that she thought that the other two would like.


	3. Chapter 2 - The Djinn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introducing: Javed "Jay" Khalaf  
> Jay steals a whole bunch of things with his two girlfriends before finding out about some valuable information.

Jay let out a soft sound of pain as his head banged into the TV shelf as he got out of what could loosely be described as his “bed”, which was just a ratty mattress and pillow put underneath a rickety shelf that looked like it would break any day with all of the shit that was piled onto it.

Yawning widely, he got on his black tank-top, dark jeans, red-and-yellow leather vest, black fingerless gloves, and finished off with his red beanie that messed up his long black hair even more, much to his satisfaction. His coppery skin rippled as he stretched and got the knots out of his back.

Jay could practically  _ feel _ the bags under his dark eyes.

Grabbing his bag, Jay quietly snuck through the shop, first making sure that his cousins (who were practically his siblings) weren’t still in bed, and then left the building, rolling his shoulders as he breathed in the chilly air, which woke him up considerably.

Now more or less ready for the day, he went down the narrow streets and, while avoiding various obstacles in his way, picked up various trinkets and objects on the way. Some of these items included, but not limited to:

A few bifolds from inside of the jackets hanging up on clothing lines, a handful of greasy fries from Ursula’s place, a bruised apple from one of the fruit vendors, the aviator-esque caps from some of Maleficent’s former minions.

Finally, he saw a familiar purple haired figure holding a Slop Shop coffee cup, which he promptly snagged and took a giant swig from, coughing a little at the sudden bitterness in his mouth.

“Jay, give me back my coffee.” Mal sighed with a hand on her hip and an unamused look on her face.

“Here you go, princess.” Jay said with a mock bow and an extravagant gesture.

“Oh shut up.” the faery rolled her eyes as she sipped her coffee before looking around curiously, “Speaking of princesses, where’s our little princess?” she asked, looking for the third member of their trio.

“Over here!” A chipper, feminine voice chirped.

The two looked over and saw that Evie was walking over, poised and perfect, as she always was.

Her beautiful blue hair was partially up into a v-braid, with the rest cascading down her shoulders, and her make-up was done just right: not too much, not too little. Her dark brown eyes glittered with amusement as she walked over to the others. She wore her small cape which swished around her as she walked, her best poofy black skirt, white and black tights that had forest silhouettes on them, and blue scuffed heels, her ruby heart necklace, and her mix-and-match bracelet that had been Evie’s sixth birthday present from Mal.

“What took you so long?” Mal asked, though it lacked much of the venom that it had whenever she talked to anyone else other then them.

“Mom was being overly fussy and I had to snag a few things while I was walking.” Evie replied with a tired sigh and a roll of her eyes.

“What sort of things?” Jay asked curiously, his kleptomaniac senses tingling.

“Nothing much. Just Ursula's necklace.” Evie said nonchalantly as she held up said item, a smug look on her face.

“Oh my god, how?!” Mal asked with a laugh and a giant grin.

“She was distracted by Uma ‘slacking off’ with her girlfriends.” Evie replied as she gave over the necklace to Mal.

“Oh that’s so not fair! All I managed to snag from her was a bunch of fries.” Jay complained with a pout.

“You snooze, you lose.” Evie chirped with a sickeningly sweet smile.

“Anyway, shall we get going?” Jay abruptly said, trying to get over how salty he was that Evie had nabbed something really good.

“Sure.” Mal said with a shrug.

The three soon started walking to school, staying quiet and enjoying each other’s company as they all fell into synchronized steps.. Although it was “weak” to make bonds, they had made “alliances” when they were younger, which turned into friendships, and now they were something that was the closest thing to love that you could get on the Isle.

“So, did you guys hear about the new kids rumor?” Evie asked curiously, looking at her two companions.

“No? What’s it about?” Jay asked curiously as he examined the necklace that he had nabbed from Mrs. Hook.

“Well, apparently we’re getting two new kids who have never gone to school before. One is rumored to have connections to both the deVil and the Hartz families while the other has connections to all of the staff members.” Evie explained as she unconsciously unbraided and rebraided her hair.

“Guys, let’s slow down a little, so we aren’t on time for class.” the group slowed and Mal tapped her bottom lip thoughtfully with her finger, “The kid with connections to both the deVils and Hartzs will probably be bad news, as those families are a nightmare when paired together while the other kid sounds like they might be super intriguing to meet.” she mused aloud as they got closer to the school.

Jay opened his mouth as they entered the graveyard that stood outside of the school to put his own two cents in when suddenly the loud bells rang, signifying the start of classes. Which meant they were officially late to class.

**Perfect.**

The three continued their walk inside of the catacombs and saw everyone bustling to either get to class or set up for various events that were going to be happening within the next few weeks. However, the Troublesome Trio stopped when Mal ran into someone who was scurrying off to class.

Much to Jay’s surprise, he didn’t recognize the person at all.

It was a girl with tawny skin, long black hair that was pulled over her shoulder, and fearful violet eyes. She wore a plain black dress with a high collar and that covered her feet entirely as most of her arms, ending in the middle of her hands. Over her shoulder was a plain brown leather bag that seemed to be bulging with books.

“I-I’m s-so sorry! I wasn’t l-looking where I was going!” The girl immediately apologized with a bow, her posture hunched over and anxious.

Jay noticed that her voice had a slight French accent, though it sounded more like the Hartz twins’ accents than anyone else’s. Looking at the other two, he saw that Mal was mostly annoyed, though there was a hint of concern in her eyes, while Evie looked very concerned, with her lips pursed into a worried look.

However, Evie’s face soon brightened with a gentle smile as she stepped forward, causing the girl’s eyes to lock on her. But, before she could say anything, the girl ran away, her hair and clothing billowing behind her.

“What was that about?” Evie asked, looking at the other two in a mix of curiosity and concern.

Both Mal and Jay just shrugged as the three continued to make their way toward homeroom.

However, he couldn’t shake the feeling that that wasn’t the last time they were going to encounter that girl.


	4. Chapter 3 - The Princess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Re-Introducing: Evelyn Adelina Regine

Evie hummed to herself as she followed Jay and Mal through the hallways of the school. Even though she had been going there since she was a little girl, the princess always got lost in the hallways if she didn’t have a guide with her, contrasting to Jay and Mal, who knew the place like the back of their hands.

The three soon reached their homeroom, which already had a bunch of kids already sitting down in their seats. And, although everyone had been talking, everyone went quiet out of fear when they noticed the trio.

Well, almost everyone.

Sitting in the middle of the front row was Diego de Vil and a boy that Evie didn't recognize, chatting obliviously to each other. Well, more accurately, Diego was talking while the other boy was listening with an amused look on his face

Diego was a tall, skinny guy with a wild black and white mohawk, one ice blue eye, one dark brown eye, and sepia colored skin that was dotted with dark freckles all over his face and arms. He wore his signature steel blue t-shirt, royal blue pleather vest with a sky blue cloud sewn onto the back, navy bermuda shorts, battered combat boots, and blue jay feather earrings.

The other boy, on the other hand, was short with wild black and white hair that somehow was wilder than Diego’s, deep chestnut eyes, and sandy skin with freckles almost artistically dotting his cheeks, the bridge of his nose and the tips of his ears. He wore a plain black t-shirt, black and white shorts, a red belt, black battered boots, and a leather jacket with one half of it being black, the other half being white, having red sleeves, a set of black and white crossed bones on the back, and fur on the collar that was the same color as the side that it was on.

While Evie found it kind of adorable how excited Diego to tell the other boy whatever he was telling him, there was one problem: The two were sitting in Evie and Mal’s normal seats.

And, by the look on Mal’s face, the faerie wasn’t too happy about it.

“Um, excuse me? You two are in me and Evie’s seats.” Mal abruptly said, slamming her hands down on the desk.

While the one boy looked scared at the sudden appearance of Mal as well as the loud action that she had done, Diego just looked unamused and almost bored as he looked at Mal with his heterochromic eyes.

“So? There are plenty of seats in the classroom.” the taller boy drawled as he leaned on his one hand, a smirk on his face.

“But those are our seats!” the faerie repeated with a growl, her eyes narrowing and glowing acid green.

Now, most kids would have run the other way and have immediately apologized for taking up Mal’s time. Hell, even the boy next to Diego looked like he was ready to bolt and the only thing that kept him from doing so was the fact that Diego was holding onto his hand.

However, Diego was not most people.

Instead, he stood up to his full height of 5’11’’ and looked down at Mal, his hand on his hip and a slightly smug smirk on his face.

“Your mom may have delusioned herself and you that you two are the big bad alpha bitches of the Isle, but you’re nothing compared to Mr. Hartz and the Hartz twins. And you’re nothing compared to me.” Diego sneered reaching into his pocket to grab something.

“Diego, stop.” the boy said, his voice somewhat panicked and high-pitched with fear.

Diego looked down at him and his eyes visibly softened with compassion and emotion for the boy. However, they quickly hardened again as he looked back at Mal.

“Just leave us the fuck alone, Dragmire.” he hissed angrily, eyes narrowing.

The two maintained eye contact for a good 30 seconds before Mal looked away, looking pissed off and annoyed as she waved her hand carelessly with faked nonchalance.

“You won this time, de Vil.” she called as she sat down in the back row, which just so happened to have three empty desks in a clump.

Evie gave the other boy a friendly wave and a shy smile as she passed by him to go sit diagonally from Mal, Jay close behind her. After Jay had settled at his desk next to Mal’s, Evie noticed that the desk on her right and right in front of Mal was occupied by the girl that they had literally bumped into them. The girl had put her bag on her lap and was reading out of a thick book with a black cover, her eyes sparkling with intrigue as she read it.

“So...now we know that that one rumor about the kid with the deVil and Hartz ties was right.” Jay commented as he tossed Ginny’s hairbrush up and down in his hand.

“The only problem is that we don’t know his name. Diego wouldn’t even let us ask him that.” Evie commented with a disappointed sigh, looking over at said boys, who had gone back to talking.

“Carlos.” a quiet voice interjected timidly.

The three turned to the new girl, who wasn’t meeting their eyes and instead fiddling with the pages of the book that she was reading. However, Mal soon leaned forward and wrapped her arms around the poor girl’s body and rested her chin on her shoulder in a seductive manner.

“Pardon?” Mal asked, batting her eyes as Evie rolled hers.

“The boy next to Diego. His name is Carlos de Vil. He’s Cruella’s only son.” the girl continued timidly, her voice even quieter and squeakier.

“And how do you know this?” Jay asked, getting up from his seat and going over to the girl’s left side, leaning on her desk.

“Guys, you’re scaring her. Give her some space.” Evie interrupted before the girl could respond, her lips pursed and her one hand on her hip.

Mal and Jay both grumbled as they went back to their seats and she heard an audible sigh of relief from the girl as her body visibly relaxed. Putting on a friendly smile, she reached out a friendly hand toward the girl.

“My names Evelyn Regine, though you can just call me Evie.” Evie greeted cheerfully, hoping that she reassured the poor girl.

The girl looked cautiously from the other two to Evie before taking her hand.

“Claudine.” she said quietly, only briefly shaking her hand before letting go to resume her book.

“What’s your last name?” Evie pressed, leaning in closer.

Claudine hesitantly looked around, as if she was expecting someone to jump out and scare her at any moment. She then looked down at her hands, looking sad and almost ashamed.

“...Frollo.” she said, barely audible.

Everything around them suddenly quieted, as everyone was probably stunned into silence by who exactly Claudine had just admitted to being related to. However, the first one to snap out of it was Jay.

“Frollo? As in the crazy religious nut who sells crepes in the town square? The one who’s constantly yelling about ‘eternal damnation’ and shit like that? That Frollo?” he questioned, his arms spread wide and a shocked looked on his face.

“I’ve...never heard my father referred to in that way before,” by the look on Claudine’s face, there was more of a story behind what she just said but she was holding back for some reason, “but yes, he’s my father.” she replied, looking as if she also hated the fact that she was related to the man.

“And I thought I had a bad parent.” Zevon commented from where he was sitting.

“Same, to be honest.” Jay agreed, looking very sympathetic.

“It’s...not all bad. I only see him on weekends, as Mr. Hartz forbade him from seeing me more often.” Claudine said with a weak but genuine smile.

However, right as everyone was about to question what she had just said, the loud sound of a recorded roar reverberated through the catacombs, signalling the first class. Claudine bolted to her feet and ran off, taking her book and bag with her as she left rapidly.

Evie frowned as she walked toward her first class, confused about how the girl had been acting and curious about what she had meant by what she had said.


	5. Chapter 4 - The Genius

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introducing: Carlos de Vil  
> (Guest Starring: Ginerva Gothel and Connor Hartz)

Carlos sighed as he started to walk toward the first class of his day, which was Selfishness 101. He had to go to his first class at his brand new school without one of the main emotional support beams that he had grown accustomed to having with him. But, he could hopefully get through one period without him, as the was shared with Diego.

However, when he spotted the one girl who hung around Mal—Evie, if he was remembering correctly—in the classroom, he knew that he was sunk. Thankfully, he spotted a familiar face in the crowd: Ginerva—or Ginny—Gothel.

Ginny was 5’ tall with long, kinky hair that was bleached blonde—sans the roots (which were her natural dark blackish brown), stormy gray eyes, and russet skin. She wore a dark violet pink tank top, midnight blue shorts, her blue jean jacket with flower designs adorning the sleeves and back, and black heeled boots that ended in the middle of her calves.

When Carlos sat next to her, she gave him a giant, genuine smile that was only usually there when she talked to her s/o’s, Pyrros and Diego. However, there was also this feeling of relief and excitement that rolled off of her in waves.

“Hey, Carlos! I’m so glad you here!” Ginny said, no traces of sarcasm in her voice as she put a hand on her chest and breathed a sigh of relief.

“Other the the fact that you actually know me, why’re you so relieved to see me?” Carlos asked with slight amusement as he put his bag next to hers.

“My mom teaches this class and she’s quadruple critical of the things that I do in comparison to every other girl in here. Especially little miss ‘Narcissism-for-Days’ over there.” Ginny explained as she gestured first to all of the selfies of Mother Gothel that were scattered around the room before gesturing at Evie, who was a few feet away.

“That’s rough, buddy.” Carlos said as he patted her shoulder.

The two continued to talk about various things that were happening in their lives before Mother Gothel finally arrived 30 minutes into the class. As soon as the older woman stepped into the classroom, Ginny visibly stiffened and sat up straight in her seat, hoping that she could actually please her mother.

“Have I taught you nothing about being fashionably, annoyingly late to every engagement?” Mother Gothel complained with an exasperated sigh as she collapsed onto her lounge chair, fanning her eyes with her hand.

“Not really, no.” Carlos mumbled under his breath, earning a soft giggle from Ginny.

Much to his ever so slight horror, Carlos soon found out that the “Villain of the Day” was none other than his mother, Cruella de Vil. However, Ginny reassured him that they usually only had the spotlight on one villain for a day, minus Mother Gothel herself, who usually did a week of just lessons about herself, going so far to even test them on the tiniest things about her.

Throughout the class period, Carlos noticed from the corner of his eye that Evie kept on looking like she wanted to say something to him but kept on deciding not to. Not that Carlos particularly wanted to talk to her, as she hadn’t even tried stop Mal from yelling at him and Diego over a silly, insignificant thing as sitting in her spot.

Finally, the dragon roar sounded through the classroom, causing Carlos to sigh in relief as he quickly packed up all of his stuff before waiting for Ginny to finish packing up. He noticed that Evie was also waiting for something, though she was waiting at her desk.

“God, that was exhausting.” Ginny groaned as she ran her fingers through her hair, causing some of it to flop in front of her eyes.

Carlos hummed in agreement as they walked outside of the classroom, his eyes scanning the surroundings for any signs of any one else he knew. However, the hallway suddenly hushed before being filled with excited whispers, immediately putting the freckled boy on edge.

He jumped when he felt an arm suddenly wrap around his one shoulder and pull him closer to Ginny. Looking up, Carlos huffed in annoyance when he realized it was none other than Connor Hartz, his more-or-less adoptive older cousin/sibling.

Connor was tall with an athletic built—compared to Diego, who was tall and bulky—, black hair that seemed to be various colors under different lights—sometimes appearing to have a cool steel gray sheen while other times appearing to be a bright red sheen—, dark brown right eye that seemed almost black, amber left eye, and ashen pink skin. Ve wore a black sleeveless turtleneck with red trim and a red heart on the one side of the chest, a gray jean jacket with a red heart on the back, a red skirt with black trim, red leather fingerless gloves, a red nose ring on vis right nostril, a red eyebrow piercing on vis left eyebrow, red stud earrings, and black boots that went up to vis knees.

“What do you want, Connor?” Carlos asked, rolling his eyes, though he did have a small nostalgic smile on his face.

“Oh, haven’t you heard? We and Cora are all hosting a party at the Clubs and Diamonds tonight and you two,” ve booped him at ‘you’ and booped Ginny on ‘two’, “are both invited!” Connor explained with a wave of vis hand.

“And what’s the occasion?” Ginny asked curiously, knowing that the Hartz twins only held parties when something big happened.

“Why, it’s Carlos and Claudine’s first time being allowed to actually go to school! That’s cause for celebration!” Connor let go of the two and spread vis arms out widely, a giant toothy grin on vis face as ve said this.

“And is it open to the whole school?”

Carlos turned and saw Evie standing in the doorway, her hands holding onto her bag and her head tilted to the side. Glancing over at Connor, he saw the grin fade from vis face as ve regarded her with a slight sneer on vis face.

“The only reason it’s open to you and your crew is because Jade didn’t want Jay to be left out of the festivities.” Connor snarled, a hand on vis hip.

Carlos saw the fact that Evie’s hopeful look faded as she seemed to realize something with sadness. She moved past him to go to her next class, not apologizing when she bumped into a few kids on the way.

Which reminded him…

“Hey, Ginny, Connor, what do you have next?” Carlos asked, looking at the two curiously.

“Evil World History.”

“Wickedness.”

Carlos worried his bottom lip. On one hand, he didn't want to bother them and ask either of them to walk with him to class. But, on the other hand, he didn't want to go to class alone.

“Do you want us to walk you to class?” Connor asked with a gentle smile.

“Yes, please. Ginny, you wanna come along?” Carlos said quickly, looking over at said girl.

“Sure.” Ginny replied with a shrug and a smile.

The three then started to go toward the Evil Schemes classroom, talking and laughing as they did so.


	6. Chapter 5 - The King

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introducing:  
> Benjamin "Ben" Gold

_ Ben found himself in a loud club, where he could practically feel the beat thrumming through his body. He looked down at himself and saw that he was wearing a golden grimy t-shirt, a blue leather jacket with gold accents, dark jeans, and battered black sneakers. When he went to push some of his hair out of his face, Ben discovered that he was wearing a black beanie. _

_ As he walked through the throngs of people, he noticed that many of the kids were around his age or younger, grinding and wildly dancing to the beat, laughing and singing along to a song that he didn’t recognize. However, his vision soon zoomed onto a group of four kidsーtwo girls, two boysーin particular, who were all leaning against the wall and chatting to one another. _

_ The first girl had wavy purple hair pulled over both shoulder that went down to the bottom of her ribcage and was dressed in an emerald green tank top, a purple leather vest, black jeans with rips in them, beat-up combat boots, and a black raven mask. In one hand was a can of spray paint while the other hand was planted on her hip. _

_ The other girl had curly blue hair hat was partially up into a braid in the back and went down to her shoulder blades and was dressed in a tight white t-shirt with black trip on the sleeves and collar that had “Fairest” in golden calligraphy across the chest, a blue skirt that went down to the middle of her thighs, black tights, scuffed black heeled ankle boots, and a green skull mask. In one hand was a small golden mirror and the other was a small pocket knife. _

_ The first boy had wild white hair with black roots and was dressed in a black t-shirt with white marks on the collar and the bottom of it, bermuda shorts that were half black and half white, a black and white leather jacket, black boots, and a Dalmation mask. His hands were fiddling with a small device that Ben couldn’t quite make out. _

_ The other boy had wild black hair that went down to a little bit below his shoulders and was dressed in a dark red beanie, a dark blue tank top that had a deep neckline, blue jeans with lots of pockets, black boots up to his shins, and a bright red parrot mask. One hand was flipping a knife with a golden snake-shaped handle while the other was casually in his pocket. _

_ Before he realized it, his feet took him to the three and made him stop in front of them. However, no one seemed to notice him, as they continued to chat with each other. _

_ “Hello?” Ben asked tentatively, barely able to hear himself over the music. _

_ The four then turned toward him, revealing that the girl with purple hair had hazel eyes with flecks of gold, the blue haired girl had dark brown eyes, the boy with white and black hair had cedar brown eyes, and the boy with long black hair had dark brown eyes that were nearly black and had a red glint to them. _

_ “Told ya it wouldn’t take that long.” the purple haired girl said snarkily, a smug smirk on her face. _

_ “Oh shut up.” the boy with black and white hair retorted, rolling his eyes as an amused smile tugged at his lips. _

_ “What’re you two talking about?” Ben asked in confusion. _

_ “That’s for us to know and for you to find out.” the blue haired girl said with a dismissive wave and a knowing look. _

_ “After all, what’s the fun in revealing a surprise?” the black haired boy continued with a shrug and a flirtatious grin. _

_ Ben opened his mouth when incoherent talking boomed through the room, interrupting the loud music. Varying levels of disappointment appeared on the four kids’ faces at the sound but they all waved goodbye. The world around him faded as he woke up. _

“Ben!”

Ben jumped as he sat up, looking around frantically to a) figure out who that voice was and b) where he. He relaxed when he realized a) Lumire was looking rather concerned as he stood in the doorway of his temporary office and b) that he had fallen asleep at his desk.

“Sorry, Lumiere. What’s up?” He said, shuffling his papers so that he could make sure that he didn’t mess any of them up by accident.

“Your mother and father are here to talk to you.” the older man said, a nostalgic smile on his face.

A mix of excitement and uneasiness filled his stomach at the mention of his parents. On one hand, he always loved seeing his mom, Queen Belle, as she always was super kind, rational, and understanding whenever she talked to him. But, on the other hand, he hatedーwell, hate is a strong word; dislike is a better word for how he feelsーhis father, King Adam,’s visits, as they always came off as being condescending, hypocritical, and like he was trying desperately to connect with a stranger’s child but didn’t know how toーwhich would be fine, if it wasn’t for the way that he went about it.

“Let them in.” The words left Ben’s mouth faster than he could register them.

“Of course.” Lumiere said with a bow and a smile.

He then stepped aside and closed the door behind him after Belle and Adam had walked into the room.

Adam was tall, poised, and intimidating, as he had kept some of the body type of when he had been transformed into a beast. It didn’t help that he was constantly wearing a blue suit, even when Ben knew that he didn’t have any meetings for the day.

In summary, although Ben knew that they were related by blood, he had this feeling of...detachment from his father.

Belle, on the other hand, was a different story. She was gentle, smaller, and motherly, though she had this feeling of stubbornness and determination that had always been there, even before she had become Adam’s wife. She constantly wore pastel yellow, blue, and pink dresses that reminded her of her childhood and affirmed the fact that she was still beautiful, even though she was edging toward her late 50’s, early 60’s.

To summarize, he loved his mother with every fiber of his being.

“Ben, are you listening?” Adam’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

“I’m sorry, Dad. What were you saying?” Ben asked with an apologetic smile as he looked at his parents with his hands folded on his desk.

“Your father made a planning snafu and arranged to have his two Councils meet on the same day at the same time. And so, to give you a small taste of how rulership is going to be like, he would like you to run the Representative Council for today.” Belle explained with a gentle and understanding smile

“Oh! I would gladly help.” Ben said with a happy smile, his posture calm and collected.

Internally, however, he was jumping for joy and cheering. The Representative Council was famous, or rather, infamous for actually talking about the things that Auradon constantly swept under the rug, like the problems with the Isle and issues in Auradon. In other words, it was a great opportunity to find out what was rotten with his future kingdom without rose-tinted shades.

“I’m so glad that you’re willing to do this.” Suddenly, Belle came over to him behind the desk and wrapped her arms around him in a gentle embrace, “I know it must be stressful to be juggling school and becoming a king in less than a year.” Belle said, place a kiss on his forehead.

“It’s not that bad.” Ben said with a weak giggle, leaning against his mother.

The two were quiet for a minute before it was interrupted by Adam clearing his throat awkwardly. Belle reluctantly pulled back, a worried expression on her face.

“The meeting’s at noon, and I’ll tell Lumiere to remind you to usher you to it at the same time. You could even invite one of your friends to the meeting to keep you company, if you want.” Belle reminded him as she pushed a strand of his hair out of his eyes, cuping either side of his face in a comforting manner.

“I will, Mom.” he said with a genuine smile.

Nodding in contentment, Belle went back to her husband and, linking arms with him, left the room. Almost as soon as they had left, Ben pulled out his phone and sent all of his friends a simple message:

**Who wants to find out what’s lingering under the surface of this kingdom?**


	7. Chapter 6 - The Bellringer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Properly Introducing: Claudine Frollo

Claudine couldn’t help but hunch her shoulders as she noticed all of the other students stare at her and whisper. She had the slightest feeling that, even though it was only the second period of the school day, word had already gotten around of who her father was and who she had connections to. Shaking her head free of her thoughts, Claudine went into the Evil Schemes classroom only to stop when she saw two seperate groups she could sit with.

On the left side was Diego, who obviously was saving a seat for Carlos, but waved at Claudine with a giant grin on his face and gesture for her to come over. She knew Diego and Carlos were probably going to bundles of ADHD nerves, just like her, and probably were just going to ask about how her day was going so far.

On the other side was Evie, Mal, and Jay, who all looked very intrigued to see her and Evie was waving at her. She knew that Mal and Jay were going to be prying into her background and personal life while Evie was going to try to be much subtler about her interest, but still be just as pushy.

Taking in a deep breath, Claudine went toward Diego and sat on his left, sending the other group an apologetic smile before she did so. Immediately, Diego grinned proudly and made a rude gesture at the other group.

“Diego.” Claudine said, smacking his arm lightly.

“What?” Diego said with a slight snicker, shrugging a little.

“Don’t taunt them.” she replied as she dug into her bag and took out Diego’s journal.

Diego’s smug look turned into one of surprise as he took ahold of the journal, held it in front of himself for a good 30 seconds before hugging it to his chest, looking grateful and surprised.

“How did you get this?” he asked, putting it in his bag immediately.

“Let’s just say that Jay may think that he’s a slick thief but he’s horrible at defending his own stuff.” Claudine said with a shrug as she held up Jay’s signature beanie for just him to see.

“Oh my god, C, you are the slickest thief!” he said with a giggle, gently bumping her arm with his hand.

“I stole back everything that he had stolen from you and your friends, as well as some other people, within 30 minutes of class. The rest was spent actually doing my work, unlike him.” Claudine replied smoothly, though she still felt very flustered over the praise.

“Nice! You’re fitting right in!” Diego laughed, pulling her into a tight hug.

Chuckling, Claudine hugged back before letting go as the bell rung. With a slight frown, Claudine realized that Carlos hadn’t come to class yet, even though she had seen him in homeroom. Looking over at Diego, she saw that his joyful face was now twisted into a worried frown as his fingers tapped his knees and he looked around anxiously.

“Hello, dreadful children.” Lady Tremaine’s drawling voice said from the front of the classroom.

Tearing her eyes away from the empty seat, Claudine turned her eyes toward the elderly woman who was leaning on her bronze and jade cane, her manicured fingers tapping on the stone in a bored manner.

“Today, we will-” she started to say as her eyes sweeped the classroom before she was interrupted by someone clearing the throat.

Turning around, Claudine saw Carlos, Connor, and Ginny all standing in the doorway, with Carlos in front, Ginny behind him, and Connor looming over both of them. Looking at Lady Tremaine, she seemed very unamused by the interruption.

“And what do you want, Connor?” she asked, head inclining in a tired manner.

“Just dropping off our little bro here.” Connor said, vis tone friendly but the look at all of the kids in the classroom being hostile.

Lady Tremaine sighed and gestured for Carlos to come in. Diego immediately waved him over and waved Connor and Ginny goodbye before the two left. Lady Tremaine sighed as Carlos nervously waved at her before taking his seat to the right of Diego.

“Anyway, as I was saying before I was rudely interrupted by Connor, today, we will start our annual class project: Crafting the Ultimate Evil Scheme.”

The old woman turned around and wrote ‘The Cinderella Story: Once Upon a Broken Glass Slipper’ in cursive on the board before turning back around.

“As many of you know, my manipulation of Cinderella was my greatest evil deed. For years I kept her in the attic and treated her as a virtual servant. If not for some horrid meddling mice, one of my daughters would be the queen of Charming Castle right now, instead of that ungrateful girl.” Lady Tremaine said, starting off calm and collected but soon escalating in tone as she remembered her frustrations.

Claudine couldn’t help but feel an uneasy shiver go down her spine. Although she had known Lady Tremaine due to living at the school for most of her life, it was still chilling to remember that she was one of the villains who ‘approved’ of Frollo’s treatment of her. However, she still took down notes, though they were very sparing, to make sure that she didn't go into a spiral the next time she read them.

“And so, the goal of every teacher at Dragon Hall is to train the new generation of villains not to make the same mistakes we did. You must learn to adapt, to be faster, more cunning, and more wicked than ever before. You will spend this year working on an evil scheme of your choosing. The student with the best nasty trick will win Dragon Hall’s Evilest of the Year award.” Lady Tremaine continued, regaining her calm exterior as she regarded the class with a cold eye.

Almost immediately, everyone started writing down ideas for what they wanted to do. Claudine could have even sworn that some were maniacally giggling under their breath. However, when she looked at her paper, she realized that she was definitely going to fail this class, as she had zero ideas of what to do.

Looking over at Diego and Carlos, she was surprised to see that Diego was jotting down a whole list of ideas, though it seemed like 90% of them were centered around getting revenge on Mal, while the other 10% were focused on Cruella. Peering around Diego, she looked over at Carlos only to realize he was fiddling with a device that she didn’t recognize, though he seemed very invested in it.

Sighing quietly, she pushed back on her chair and looked through the classroom to try to find someone to focus her plan on. Her eyes then fell on Evie, who was happily chatting with her girlfriend and boyfriend, as if what they were being asked of was perfectly normal.

The gears in her mind started to turn as she thought of a way to get back at her for embarrassing her this morning. A small smirk on her face, she quickly jotted down her ideas and just in time, too, as the bell soon rang. Putting her name on the top of her paper, she gave it in to Lady Tremaine and walked out of the classroom with Diego and Carlos.

“So, what did you put?” Carlos asked curiously, glancing at the other two.

“It’s a secret.” Claudine said, pressing a finger to her lips with a small secretive smile.

“Same here. As much as I love both of you, I don’t trust y’all to not tell what I’m going to do.” Diego said with a beaming grin.

“Then I guess I’ll keep my plan to myself too.” Carlos replied, the sides of his lips quirking upward.

“Hey, deVils!” a cold voice suddenly interrupted the warm and friendly chatter.

Stiffening, Claudine turned with the other two as they looked at Mal, who had a hand on her hip as she glared, Jay beside her and Evie slightly behind her on his other side. She can hear a soft scared sound escape from Carlos and an angry, almost growling sound escape Diego. Taking in a calming breath, she moves so she’s between the two deVils and holding both of their hands reassuringly, looking Mal directly in the eyes.

“What is it?” Diego snarled, obviously still annoyed by what happened this morning.

“Is it true that there’s going to be a party at the Hartz’s Casino?” Mal asked, a hand on her hip and a masked intrigued look on her face.

“Yes, and you guys are invited because Jade didn’t want her cousin to be left out of it.” Carlos replied, obviously tired as well about the whole affair.

“Is there a dress code or anything?” Jay asked, moving forward a little.

“You would have to ask Connor and Coraline. They are the ones planning the party, after all.” Carlos insisted, his grip on Claudine’s hand tightening.

“Yeah, I literally had no idea about it until just now, when you mentioned it.” Diego agreed, glaring at both Mal and Jay.

“Diego.” Claudine said in a warning tone of voice, squeezing his hand tightly.

“Oh, are you two dating?” Evie asked suddenly, looking curiously between Claudine and Diego.

The half-Romani girl made a squeak of surprise and looked down, feeling heat rise to her face in embarrassment. However, much to her surprise, she felt Diego’s arm wrap around her almost posessively and she glanced upward to see a proud grin on his face.

“Yep! We’ve been dating since we were 12!” Diego said proudly, kissing Claudine on the cheek.

And that’s when it dawned on Claudine: all of the affectionate things Diego did that she had always associated with him just being friendly toward her were the exact same things that he did to Ginny and Pyrros, his significant others. And, sure it enough, the affectionate actions had started when they were 12.

“It seems like everyone got together at 12, huh?” Evie commented with a giggle, snapping Claudine out of her thoughts.

Claudine nodded in agreement, leaning into her boyfriendーthat was strange to say, but it somehow felt rightー's shoulder. She had seen them take form from where she hung out on the rooftops and the belltower—well, that and Mr. Hartz always liked keeping her updated on what was going on; just in case her father would allow her to go to school.

“Anyway, why don't you sit with us at lunch?” Evie asked with a hopeful look.

Claudine looked at Diego and Carlos, who both looked very uncomfortable with the idea of her being with them at lunch. So she shook her head, giving her a polite smile.

“I’m probably going to hang out with my group of friends. Besides, I have to find out more about this party myself.” Claudine said, hoping that she didn't sound rude.

“You already have a friend group?” Mal asked, sounding doubtful.

“I...kind of grew up on campus so I befriended a lot of the kids whose parents are teachers here.” Claudine admitted with a sheepish grin.

“That’s actually how we met! Mr. Hartz was working late but he didn't feel comfortable leaving us home because Dad was also working late so he brought us to work and boom, we met!” Diego replied with a grin.

“Okay, so I get that you were more or less raised here. But how come we’ve never met you before?” Jay asked, looking very suspicious for no reason.

“No one ever checks the bell tower or the rooftops.” Claudine said, surprising herself with her blunt and cold delivery of the statement.

Jay opened his mouth to respond when someone suddenly cuffed the side of his head, causing the Arabic boy to yelp and pout childishly. Relief went over Claudine in waves when she saw that it was Jade, Coraline, and Freddie, with Jade probably having had hit him, as there was an amused and somewhat annoyed look on her face.

Coraline was tallest out of the trio of girlfriendsーhell, even when they were the full foursome, Coraline was the tallest out of all of himーat 5’8’’ and had the poise and charm to enforce that she was not a force to be reckoned with. In an almost reflection to her fraternal twin sibling, she had a very round and busty body type with bright ginger hair that curled uncontrollably, one dark brown eye that seemed almost black, one amber eye, and rosy pink skin. She wore a dark red jean jacket with a skull sewn onto the back of it, a red sleeveless turtleneck with black trim, ab off-black skirt with red trim, black leather gloves, black stud earrings, a black red leather boots that went up to right above her ankles.

Freddie, on the other hand, was the shortest out of the group of girlfriends at only 5’2’’ with long black hair with white streaks that was pulled into low pigtails, chestnut brown skin with four light yellow circular markings under either eye, greenish gold eyes, and two purple streaks in her right eyebrow. She wore a red blouse with gold stripes, a silver and green flower necklace, a maroon dress vest with a cardinal feather tucked into it, maroon skirt with ruffles that went down to a little bit below her knees, sparkling lavender tights that faded into a deep purple, white shoes with black heels and toes, golden vine bracelets, a purple top hat with a teal feather sticking out of the blue band, and a snake-like band around her wrist.

Jade was in the middle when it came to height at 5’5.5’’ with long black hair that was in a segmented braid pulled over her shoulder and went down to her hips, bright amber eyes, coppery skin, and a pear-shaped body. She wore a rose pink tank top, a baby blue jacket, simple gray pants, black flats, a golden choker with a red heart in the center of it, a black armlet with a golden shell in the center of it, and a purple bracelet with a voodoo mask in the center of it.

“Jay, stop harassing my poor friends.” Jade said, her voice airy and soft, but with this hard and dignified tone to it.

“I wasn’t harassing them!” Jay protested, looking mock-offended that his cousin would even suggest that.

“I would beg to differ.” Claudine said with a roll of her eyes.

“Anyway, Connor wants to chat with you guys.” Freddie said as she gestured at Claudine and the deVils.

“Let’s go, then!” Diego said with a wide and relieved grin.

The three started to walk off before Claudine paused, thinking of how she had Jay’s beanie in her bag. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out the beanie and held it out to Jay, who looked surprised as Mal made a sound that was a mix surprised and amused.

“Here. I stole this last period when I was taking back all of my friend’s possessions. So leave them alone before I take something more important.” Claudine said with a threatening smile.

“Whatever.” Jay grumbled as he took the beanie and put it back on.

Claudine smirked and continued to leave, amused when she heard the trio talking and laughing about Jay’s lack of attention span.


	8. Chapter 7 - Don't Threaten Me With A Good Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reintroducing: Diego de Vil  
> And Premiering: Pyros Papaaides  
> Diego and Carlos make a bet while Pyrros is thirsty as hell.

“Do I have to actually attend?” Carlos asked as he adjusted his sweatshirt, which was patterned similarly to many of the coats that Aunt Ella often wore.

“Of course! What would this party be without one of the guests of honor?” Diego asked with a chuckle as he tuned his guitar.

The two were currently sitting on the main stage, which had been constructed out of the wood of the hundreds upon hundreds of abandoned wine racks that used to occupy the space, of the Diamond and Clubs Casino, waiting for the guests, as well as the other band members, to start arriving as they chatted to pass the time.

Diego had changed into his band outfit, which consisted of a black t-shirt with a red symbol as well as white, bold letters that read, “Feels Good to Be A Punk Loser” on the front; a black, white, and blue jacket with silver studs on the front and shoulders; black cargo pants; black boots with silver buckles and chains on them; white skull gauges accompanied by his normal black hoops; silver cross ring, and gold flower ring. He had also put on black eyeshadow and eyeliner to make his brown eye seem darker and his blue eye seem a lot brighter in contrast.

Carlos, on the other hand, was forced to change, by insistence of Connor and Freddie, into a red t-shirt with black letters that read “My Chemical Romance”, a black and red sweatshirt with white sleeves dotted with black spots that were rolled up to above his elbows, black skinny jeans, scuffed red converse sneakers, a spiked bracelet, and black hoops studded with white gems on the outside and a bright red gem hanging from the center of the hoop.

“But isn’t Claudine already coming? So why do I have to come?” Carlos asked as he flopped down on the stage, covering his eyes with his forearm.

“Because you should associate with more people than our circle.” Diego reminded him with a hum as he finished tuning the guitar.

“What if I don’t want to?” Carlos challenged with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“Then you’ll be stuck being alone the entire night because both me and Connor are going to be working onstage, as are Pyrros, Zevon, and Anthony. Coraline and Freddie are going to be manning the bar, Uma and Jade are in charge of being bouncers for the night, and Shi is going to be making sure that no one destroys anything, with Gil and Harry acting as xer enforcers.” Diego listed off as he leaned his guitar against the wall before crouching next to his younger cousin.

“But that still leaves Rick, Westly, Dizzy, Hadie, Yzla, Sophie, Ginny, Claudine, CJ, Hermie, and maybe Dion and Hector.” Carlos pointed out with a quirked eyebrow and a proud smirk.

“Touché. How about this: if you can at least make one more friend before the end of the night, I will serenade my s/o’s in front of the entire school.” Diego asked as he held out his hand for a shake to seal the deal.

Carlos mischievously smirked as he took Diego’s hand as he sat up, shaking it.   


“Deal.”

The smaller of the two stood up, dusting off his pants as he flashed his older cousin a confident smirk that had rarely been there when he was younger before he jumped off the stage and walked toward the entrance of the casino. Diego chuckled under his breath as he shook his head at his cousin. Stretching as he stood up, he walked over to the music equipment on the stage and made sure that all of it was properly hooked up.

“Aw, even at a party, you’re still working.” a familiar voice cooed as one arm wrapped around Diego’s chest while the other lovingly stroked the side of his face, causing him to stiffen involuntarily.

“Pyrros, I’m trying to do something. Could you please let go of me?” the ¾ Hispanic asked with a sigh as he relaxed, leaning his head back against his one s/o.

“You’re no fun.” the lesser god whined as vey let go, allowing Diego to stand up properly and turn to face vem.

Pyrros was a few inches shorter than him at 5’9’’ーthough you couldn’t really tell because of veir 2 inch heels, which made them the same heightーwith ashen skin with a tawny undertone, stormy gray that seemed to light up with flashes of blue when vey was excited, teal hair down to a little below the bottom of veir neck that was highlighted with lighter teal, a pastel pink crop top with a pastel rainbow over “σκύλα”ーwhich mean “bitch” in greekーin bold black letters, a short black shrug with fluffy purple faux fur on the collar and cuffs, a black pleated skirt with silver studs and chains on it, black combat boots with blue toes and spikes strategically placed across it, black cloud earrings that had golden thunderbolts dangling from them, a sparkling heart shaped necklace with silver inverted crosses on it, and a silver bracelet with black and pink flowers on it. Vey was also wearing blue eyeshadow that made the blue pop out in veir eyes, a light amount eyeliner that made veir eyes pop, and purple lipstick that made it very tempting to kiss vem.

“Instead of just loafing around, why don’t you actually help me with this?” Diego asked, gesturing at the mess of wires that he needed to straighten out.

“Or...I could help you out in a different way, if we go into the bathroom together.” Pyrros replied with a flirtatious smirk as vey suggestively waggled veir eyebrows.

“As...tempting that is, we have work to do.” Diego shook his head with an apologetic smile on his face.

“Eh, was worth a shot. Do you know when Zevon and Anthony are supposed to show up?” Pyrros asked as vey knelt down and started to help Diego untangle the various wires.

“I’m pretty sure they’re coming with their siblingsーor, in Anthony’s case, cousinsーwhich could take an eternity, given how attentive to detail Anthony’s cousins all are.” Diego said with a slight snicker.

“Oh, Papa below, that’s the worst. And I’m pretty sure Hadie is tagging along, as he wasn’t home when I changed.” Pyrros said with a sympathetic grimace as vey shifted so that vey was on the other side of the outlets.

Soon, the two eased into conversations, ranging from things that happened during the school day to ramblings about what they wanted to do after the party. Thankfully, with two of them on the job, they untangled the wires quickly and they were able to relax as they quietly enjoyed each other’s presence and listened to the distant talking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone is curious about what the outfits look like, just DM me for the pics.
> 
> Also, can you tell that I'm not a fashion/make-up person?
> 
> Probably.


	9. Chapter 8 - Helpless

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ginny is hopelessly in love with Claudine and notices that Claudine isn't the only one who wants to just go home.

“Are you sure I look okay?” Claudine asked self-consciously as she pushed some of her lucious black hair behind her one ear, making the gold tear-drop shaped earrings glitter in the lamp-light of the street.

“You look wonderful!” Ginny insisted, blushing in embarrassment as she tried her best not to say what what was really on her mindーwhich was the word gorgeous.

Claudineーbeautiful, amazing, splendid Claudineーwas dressed in a black dress down to the middle of her thighs with a white tab collar and pink on the bottomーalmost like flames, if Ginny was to be honestー, her golden cross necklace, the aforementioned gold teardrop earrings, and simple black flats. She insisted on not wearing any make-up, which Ginny respectedーbut it did accentuate how beautiful she was, even though she had no makeup on.

Ginny, on the other hand, was dressed in a red dress with a square-cut neckline that went down to a little higher than Claudine’s did, scuffed black heels with a silver buckle on the front of it, silver hoops with tiny crosses dangling from them, a gold skull ring with garnet eyes, and a silver necklace with a moon and clouds charm. She decided to wear some ruby red lipstick and foundation, in an attempted to cover up the blemishes on her face.

It was rather paradoxical: one of the people in her life who made her feel the happiest also made her feel super inadequate.

However, when she looked at Claudine, she could also tell that she also felt that way, though there was no doubt that it wasn’t really directed at Ginny, but was probably directed at Pyrros and Diego.

“Ginny?”

Ginny was snapped out of her thoughts by the subject of said thoughts looking worriedly at her, an adorably concerned look on the half-Romani girl’s face.

“Sorry, I zoned out there, didn’t I?” the African-American girl replied with a slight embarrassed giggle, feeling her face turn red with embarrassment.

“A little bit.” Claudine replied with the most patient and understanding smile in the universe.

“Anyway, shall we continue?” Ginny asked, holding out her hand for Claudine to take with a joking smile on her face.

“We shall.” Claudine said deadpan as she took her hand, only having a hint of a smile on her face.

The two girlfriends started to walk quickly toward the casino, chatting to keep the almost suffocating darkness that Isle nighttimes tended to have at bay, making sure to never really be that quiet. However, as they approached the casino, they could see the lines of kids waiting to go inside.

“That’s...a really long line.” Claudine commented, her shoulders slumping in defeat.

“Don’t worry, sweetie. I got this.” Ginny said as she flashed a grin at her.

Despite Claudine’s protests, the two went to the front of the line, where Uma was talking to an agitated pirate who was way older than what was allowed to the parties that Connor and Coraline held. However, when Jade noticed the two, she leaned over to her girlfriend and whispered something in her ear. Uma immediately stopped talking to the pirate and had this look of relief and excitement on her face.

“There’s the girl of the hour! Shi’s waiting for you inside.” Uma said, jerking a thumb over her shoulder as Jade undid the velvet rope.

“What?! That’s no fair!” the adult pirate complained with an annoyed tone of voice.

“DIDN’T I JUST TELL YOU TO FUCK OFF?!” Uma practically screeched as she turned toward the pirate.

As they continued to argue, Claudine and Ginny both gave the two teens a sympathetic smile as they went past them and went down the stairs. The stairway leading down into the basement/former wine cellar/underground casino was lit by red and purple string lights, undoubtedly a choice made to represent both Carlos and Claudineーas one of Carlos’s signature colors was red while one of Claudine’s was purple.

When they got to the bottom, Ginny immediately noticed that nearly half of school was already there, with all of the younger kids dancing and playing games while most of the older kids were standing around, talking over the loud music or indulging in some of the food and games. Immediately, in the crowd, she spotted the main group and Ginny made sure to hold onto her girlfriend tightly as she held onto her girlfriend as she made her way over to the group.

“How’re you losers doing?” Ginny asked with a wide grin and a snicker as soon as she got into earshot of the group.

“Says the loser.” Rick said deadpan, one arm wrapped around his boyfriend, Westley,’s waist while the other held a red solo cup filled with something.

Richard “Rick” Ratcliffeーthough his boyfriends apparently called him something different in privateーwas almost gigantic at 6’0’’ with a broad but lithe body, amber skin that had a faint golden glow to it and that was marred by scars that ranged from a light pink to a white color, and long raven black hair that was shaved on one side and he had straightened for the party. He wore a black tank-top with a melting yin-yang on the chest that was obvious that borrowed from either Connor or Shi, a black studded vest, black cargo pants, combat boots, an electric blue septum piercing, a shotgun shell on a silver chain which Ginny swore he never took off, and a red cardinal feather sticking out of his hair.

Westley “Clay” Clayton, on the other hand, was small and frail at 5’4’’ with a scrawny physique, sandy skin with a splash of freckles across his face and was marred by various scarsーthe biggest being one over his left eye that started a little bit over his right eyebrow and jaggedly went down his face where it stopped right below his chinーall over his body, a dark doe-like eye that seemed to suck your soul out if you looked into it for too long, and curly black hair that was swept over his scarred eye and tucked behind his ear on the side that wasn’t hurt. He was wearing a galaxy button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to above his elbows, black jeans pants, black converse, silver lightning bolt earrings, a black bracelet with silver spikes and skulls on it, a blue jay feather sticking out of the hair of his uninjured side, and, of course, his signature red bandana.

It seemed as if Ginny and Claudine were the last ones to arrive, as most of the group seemed to be there: Rick, Westly, Dizzy, Hadie, Yzla, Sophie, Ginny, Claudine, CJ, and Hermie. However, there seemed to be three members of the merry band that seemed to be missing.

“Where are Carlos, Dion, and Hector?” Claudine asked quietly, her eyes darting around the group curiously.

“Dion’s on a business trip with Mom, Hector’s helping Dad out at the shop, and...I don’t know what happened to Carlos. He was here a minute ago.” Hadie commented, sounding rather happy and confident at the beginning of the sentence but becoming less confident and more confused once he started thinking about Carlos.

Phoenixーor, Hadie, as he was better known byーPapáaïdēs was only 5’5’’ with fiery blue hair that went down to a little below the middle of his neck, ashen skin with an almost rosey undertone, and unusually blue eyes with lighter marks shooting out from the pupil. He wore a magenta dress with a pink sash and bow on the front, a pink galaxy bow with a white bunny on the centerpiece, blue galaxy tights, and blue and purple galaxy converse sneakers.

“I saw Carlos leave to go somewhere but I didn’t see where he went off to.” Sophie piped up, a thoughtful and curious look on her face.

Sophie Sid was a small, mousey girl who stood at 5’0’’ with big brown eyes, black hair that was pulled into low dual buns, and tawny skin that was splattered with freckles. She wore a blue dress with a brown belt that had a silver buckle, a blue beanie with stars and moons on it, golden flats with bows on the toes, and blue jeweled stud earrings.

“Knowing him, he just probably got over stimulated by all of the loud noise and just went to cool off somewhere where it’s quiet.” Yzla commented quietly, leaning on her girlfriend’s head as her one hand twirled the gold and blue ring that she had on.

Yzla Sumac, compared to her girlfriendーwho was Sophieー, was a tad taller at 5’4.5’’ but had long black hair with deep blue tips that was done into a braid over her shoulder, tanned skin with an almost gray-blue undertone to it, and dark brown eyes with sparks of blue in them. She wore a semi-tight black dress with a u-shaped neckline, the aforementioned blue and gold ring, black flats with ribbons tying up to her ankles, and dangling gold star earrings.

“Should we look for him or…?” Ginny asked, glancing at the other members of the group.

“Just let him mope a little. Earlier, he tried to escape and Shi more or less just dragged him back to the group and told him to stay put, so he’s probably sulking about having to stay here.” Rick said with an amused smirk.

Ginny giggled as the others all started talking about how hilarious it was to see tiny little Carlos being carted around by giant, intimidating as hell Shi. However, there was this uncomfortable prickle that went down her spine, though she couldn’t name exactly what it was.


	10. Chapter 9 - Loners in the Bathroom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introducing: Léon Bartlett  
> (Featuring Eddie Balthazar and Carlos de Vil)  
> Léon makes a very important discovery about his family and his childhood friend.

It was official: Léon hated Freddie Facilier with every fiber of his being.

First, she insisted that he dress downーconsisting of just a red button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, black jeans, and black converse sneakers, which meant that he felt super insecure, as he wasn’t dressed like he usually did.

Then, she told him last minute that she was going to manning the bar with her girlfriend, so she wouldn’t be able to hang with himーor, rather, would be someone that he could just stand by and feel less awkward then he usually did.

And the final nail in the coffin was that he discovered yet another one of her cryptic as hell cards in his pockets, this one depicting a skeleton on a horse with a black flag and surrounded by people with “XII” on the top of the card and “Death.” on the bottom of the card, which just seemed just straight up insulting.

So, here he was, sulking in the tub of the bathroom of the shop right above the casino, where the party was taking place, browsing on his phone and listening to music, using the shitty Isle reception. At around 10:45, he could have sworn that he heard the door open but he just wrote it off as this place being old as hell, as he didn’t hear it open again and he didn’t hear any footsteps.

However, at around 11:00, the door definitely opened, as he heard loud footsteps that started inside before they stopped, followed by it closing.

“Carlos? What’re you doing in here?” a semi-familiar voice asked, though Léon couldn’t name exactly whose voice it was.

However, he recognized the other voice as being Carlos de Vil, the kid who this whole party was for. Curiously, Léon leaned forward, even though he knew that he didn’t have to.

“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m moping.” Carlos, said, sounding a tad sulky and upset.

“Why aren’t you out there, actually socializing like Diego asked?” the unknown voice asked, sounding a bit confused and curious.

“Because it’s a dumb bet that I shouldn’t have made.” Carlos mumbled, his voice barely audible, even in the echoey bathroom.

“Eh, fair. Though, would it really hurt to at least try?” the other voice asked, no hostility in their voice as they said this.

“Yes, because I don’t want to embarrass myself.” Carlos replied, sounding rather bitter.

“You’re not gonna embarrass yourself. You just gotta remember to be observant.” the voice replied with a chiding tone.

“Oh, like you’re one to talk.” Carlos snapped angrily.

“I am. Because there’s been a kid listening in this entire time because they’ve been chilling in the bathtub.” the other voice said loudly, causing Léon’s gray-blue eyes to widen with surprise.

But before Léon could do anything, the curtain opened to reveal Carlos de Vil— looking rather surprised as he stared at Léon— and a boy that Léon had spotted in the hallway but had never learned the name of standing right in front of him.

The unknown kid was tall with sandy skin, black hair, and dark brown eyes that seemed almost black, as well as what looked like faint scars and bruises on some of their exposed skin. They wore a white button up shirt, a dark red vest, a gold skull necklace with one green and one purple gem eyes, and black jeans that were tucked into black leather boots. There was a smug and slightly surprised look in his eyes.

“Edward Balthazar. Though everyone just calls me Eddie.” the unknown boy said, holding out his hand for him to shake.

“I’m Léon Bartlett.” Léon replied after hesitating for a few moments, shaking his hand slowly as he noticed how his tan skin compared to Eddie’s sandy skin.

“Oh! You’re Léon?” Carlos suddenly said, his eyes sparkling with curiosity.

“You know who I am?” he asked, taken aback by the fact that someone other than Freddie and the Hartz twins knew his name.

“Yeah! Freddie has mentioned you a few times!” the excited look faded from Carlos's face as it was replaced with a more bitter one, “Though, it was mostly to compare us.” he huffed with a pout.

“Compare-?” Léon started to ask, eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

“Hey, what’s that sticking out of your pocket?” Eddie suddenly asked, pointing at his shirt.

Léon was confused for a few seconds before he realized that the card that Freddie had given him was still in his shirt pocket, though he could have sworn he had thrown it out. Rolling his eyes, he took it out and handed it to the boy.

“Take it. Freddie gave it to me with 0 clues, as always.” He said as Eddie took it and turned it over in his hands.

However, much to Léon’s surprise, almost as soon as he had gotten ahold of the card, Eddie’s one eye glowed a bright pinkish purple while the other glowed an acidic green as his thumbs traced the outlines on the card.

“Death, Major Arcana Number 13. Upright, it represents endings, beginnings, change, transformation, and transition. Reverse, it represents resistance to change, and being unable to move on. ” he rattled off in a voice that seemed almost…possessed.

“Eddie?” Carlos asked hesitantly.

As if a switch was flicked, Eddie closed his eyes and shook his head. When he opened his eyes again, the supernatural glow to them was gone and he just looked so confused but intrigued at the same time as he looked back at the card.

“Did I just…?” he muttered quietly, examining the card.

“What just happened?” Léon asked, looking from Carlos to Eddie in confusion.

“Well, not a lot of people know this, but Eddie’s mom is Madam Mim’s only daughter, Margret Mim. So, he also has as much magic as the Mim cousins but for some reason, he’s not considered part of the family?” Carlos replied with an unsure look at Eddie.

“It’s my hair and eye color.” Eddie suddenly said as he sat down abruptly onto the floor in front of the door.

“What?” Léon asked as he clambered out of the bathtub and sat on the floor in front of it.

“My grandma more or less disowned my mom when she produced a son without the signature purple-ish pink hair or the acid green eyes that the Mim family is known for. Even my uncles did. Hell, the only ones who consider me and Mom part of the family are my cousins.” Eddie said as he drew his knees up to his chest, holding the card between his fingers.

“What does that have to do with what just happened?” Léon pressed, still confused about what was going on.

“Well, not all forms of magic are restricted on the Isle, contrary to popular belief. They’re small and practically miniscule, but they’re there. For example, my whole family can talk to animals while the Baddours, and the Faciliers, to a lesser extent, can see the future. The only amount of magic that the Mim’s seemed to retain was the future telling as well.” Carlos explained with a slight shrug.

“Léon, is this the first time that Freddie has given you tarot cards?” Eddie asked, his eyebrow raising curiously.

“No. She’s been doing this ever since we were kids.” Léon replied, though he was confused about why he was asking this.

“Do you have them with you?” the black-haired boy asked as he folded his legs criss-cross and he sat up, placing the card face-down on the floor.

“I...don’t think so.” Léon said with an unsure shake of his head.

“I would check your pockets; Freddie is known for slipping things into them.” Carlos pointed out, with a slight wave of his hand.

“True.”

Léon opened his vest and reached into the inner pocket and, sure enough, there were all of the other cards that she had given to him tied together with a worn out hair thing. Taking it out, he handed it to Eddie, who took off the hair-thing and spread them out face down in front of him, making sure that the Death card was the last one.

Eddie took in a deep breath before he flipped over the first one, which was facing Léon and showed two people walking in the snow outside of a church, which had five stars in the window and had “V” over the stars.

“Five of Pentacles. Upright, it’s representative of isolation, insecurity, worry, financial loss, and poverty. Someone in your life is overly concerned with money and falling into poverty that they weren’t home that much and became impoverished in other ways, such as the spirit.” He rattled off as his hand lingered over it.

Eddie’s hand smoothly went over to the next card and turned it over, revealing that it was facing the black-haired boy. Craning his head, Léon could make out that it was a man sitting with his arms crossed over his chest and a smug smile on his face as well as 9 golden chalices behind him in a row as well as “IX” at the top.

“Nine of Cups. Reversed, it represents greed, dissatisfaction, and materialism. Someone in your life so focused on greed that they are at the point in their life that, no matter how much they actually get, they will never be satisfied.” Eddie said, his voice becoming ever so slightly choked up voice.

A chill went down his spine when he heard that description. It sounded almost exactly like his father. Hell, even the image on the card looked similar to his father, now that he was thinking about it. However, before he could ask about it, Eddie had moved on to the next card, which was facing toward Léon. This time, it showed a man awkwardly carrying a bundle of 10 long staffs and had “X” at the top of the card.

“10 of Wands. Upright, it represents burden, responsibility, hard work, stress, and achievement. Someone in your life is taking up so much burden and responsibility, even though they might not even have to do so.”

Léon briefly wondered if that was supposed to represent him, though he doubted so, as his parents were constantly telling him about how lazy he was. Trying to move away from those thoughts, he focused on Eddie, who still seemed to be in the magic trance as he flipped over the next card, which was, once again, facing Léon. Unlike all of the others, which had hints of unhappiness, this one seemed the most blunt, as it showed a man lying dead on the ground, surrounded by a pool of blood and having ten swords sticking out of his back, with a bold “X” at the top of the card.

“Ten of Swords. Upright, it represents being back-stabbed, defeat, crisis, betrayal, endings, and  loss. Someone, or multiple people, have back stabbed you in the past, causing you to wondering what you did that caused it to happen.” 

This time, Léon physically flinched from how graphic and eerily familiar that description was. He saw that Eddie gave him this sympathetic look before he continued on to the next card, which also faced toward Léon. This one depicted a stack of eight cups in the foreground, a person walking away in the background, and “VIII” at the top of the card.

“Eight of Cups. Upright, it represents escapism, disappointment, abandonment, and withdrawal. Someone in your life is very detached and separated from either you or from your family in general due to some kind of abandonment or disappointment that has occured in the past.”

He nodded, though he didn’t really know which particular person in his life was being represented through that card. Eddie’s hand moved to the next card and turned it over, though he tilted his head to the side in confusion, as if he was confused. Léon looked at the card and saw that it was the one that Freddie had given him twice: the person sitting up in bed, crying into their hands with 9 swords displayed behind them and “IX” at the top of the card.

“Nine of Swords. Upright, it represents depression, nightmares, intense anxiety, and despair, while reversed, it represents hopelessness, severe depression, and torment. Someone in your life has been overcame with a feeling as if they could never leave the situation that they are currently in. And, while the feeling has decreased, it is still there.” 

Léon’s chest tightened as he remembered all of his nightmares that would make him wake up screaming, which would only result in more beatings, so he got in the habit of just curling up and quietly sobbing into his pillow after them. Eddie gave a look of “are you okay”, causing Léon to wave to signal him to continue. The black-haired boy nodded and flipped over the next card, which seemed to be facing Eddie and depicted a man on a white horse, holding a wooden staff, as well as five other guys walking at his side, each holding a similar staff, with “VI” at the top of the card.

“Six of Wands. Reversed, it means egotism, disrepute, lack of confidence, and fall from grace. Someone in your life was once very high up in the social rankings but they have since fallen from said social rankings due to a scandal of some sort, but acts as if neither the fall nor the scandal happened.”

Similarly to the Nine of Cups, Léon couldn’t help the chill that went down his spine at the description that was eerily similar to his father. At this point, he knew that it was more than a coincidence that Freddie had given him these particular cards, and he was dreading to see what the remaining four cards meant. Eddie’s hand then went over to the next card and flipped it over, which revealed it to be facing Eddie and showed a woman sitting down on a throne and holding a pentagram, though she seemed almost slumped over it, if Léon was being honest.

“Queen of Pentacles. Reversed, it means there is an imbalance work or family commitments. This one is just like it states: there’s an imbalance of work and/or family commitments in your life, whether you realize it or not.” Eddie said, this time sending a knowing look toward Léon.

And that’s when it dawned on him who was represented by the 10 of Wands: it was supposed to be him. He was constantly working and worrying not only about his parents, but his younger siblings as well, as he was more or less forced to raise them because his father outright refused to and his mother was never home. And that’s what the most recent card meant: even though that his mom worked just as often as Léon did, she comparatively had less of a burden on her. And this one must also represent that imbalance.

However, Eddie just moved on to the next card and flipped it over, revealing it to be facing Eddie once more and depicted a naked man and woman being chained together with a devilish figure behind the two, with one hand point upward and the other holding a torch.

“The Devil. Reversed, it means detachment, breaking free, and power reclaimed. Usually, the Devil is a negative card but, reversed, it is a very positive card that means that you need to let go and detach yourself from whatever negative influences there are in your life in order to reclaim your power and break free.” Eddie said with the smallest hint of smile on his face.

Léon nodded in agreement. Compared to most of the other cards, this one seemed very positive, even if the card itself was a tad explicit. The black-haired boy’s hand moved to the second to last card and flipped it over, showing, for a third time, it was facing Eddie, and depicted a sun with a crescent-moon-shape human face in it with two dogs howling at it.

“The Moon. Reversed, it means release of fear, unhappiness, and confusion. Pretty much, it’s telling to let go of any negative emotions that you might be holding onto it.” Eddie listed off, obviously not trying elaborate, as it was pretty self-explanatory.

“These last ones seem to be super positive, aren’t they?” Carlos commented out of nowhere, glancing at the two with curious eyes.

“Yeah, they really are. And, well, we all know what the last one is.” Eddie agreed with a nod as he flipped over the last card, showing that it was the Death card.

“...Is Freddy trying to tell me to move on?” Léon asked in confusion, looking from one to the other.

“Based on all of the cards, probably.” Carlos said with a nod.

“And she’s been doing this ever since we were kids.” the blonde-haired boy said with a sigh as he ran a hand through his hair.

“Well, I’m guessing it’s always been this way.” Eddie said, eyes filled with this familiar sadness and pity.

Léon nodded and he drew his knees close to his chest, resting his head on his knees. Suddenly, he felt two arms wrap around his torso as he was pulled close to someone. Looking up, he saw that Eddie was kneeling next to him and holding him to close. And, suddenly, everything came pouring out: his sadness, pain, and loneliness as he started to sob into Eddie’s torso, holding onto him tightly. 

Léon wasn’t sure how long it was before his sobs subsided and he pulled away from Eddie. However, he then realized that, at some point, Carlos had wrapped his arms around Léon’s torso, though he let go when he looked at him.

“Are you feeling better?” Eddie asked gently, rubbing circles into his back.

“Yeah.” Léon said with a nod.

“...Do you two want to hang out with me and my group of friends?” Carlos asked as he got up and offered his hand to Léon.

Léon hesitated, remembering how his father and mother always advisers against associating with the de Vil family, especially the kids of Cruella.

_But did they care about your safety or just how they appear to the other villains?_ A tiny voice in the back of Léon’s head asked, knowing what the response was.

Determined, Léon took Carlos’s hand and helped himself up before turning to help Eddie out. After Eddie had gotten up, the three nodded before leaving the bathroom, though they made sure to pick up 

And never before did Léon feel this liberated.


	11. CHANGES

Oh boy, it's been awhile since I've had to announce that I'm reworking a story.

 

Thankfully, this one isn't that hard to rework and it's just mostly me throwing out the Core 4 POVs, making them minor characters, as well as Ben's, and focusing on all of the minor characters/OCs I have in the works. This will tie into my Descendants 1 rewrite so look forward to that!

  
So, this fic is going to still stand but I'm going to make the rewritten version, which is going to be called "The Forgotten Ones", and don't be surprised if I reuse some chapters or use hints to the plot lines in this one but it isn't directly focused on.

 

Anyway, see you in the first chapter of "The Forgotten Ones"!


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